Il Tempio delle Clessidre
Alienatura

"Alienatura" is the second album by Il Tempio delle Clessidre, an Italian prog group from the prolific Genoese scene. In this work, Il Tempio experienced the defection of its "historic" singer Stefano "Lupo" Galifi, former frontman of the glorious Museo Rosenbach. The choice finally fell on Francesco Ciapica, who manages to perform excellently without making us miss his illustrious predecessor, also thanks to a similar vocal timbre. This is great news considering the chronic weakness of vocals in Italian prog. I had already seen Il Tempio live with the new singer, and on that occasion, I had the opportunity to listen to "Onirica possessione," one of the tracks present in "Alienatura", from which I drew a positive impression. The concept of "Alienatura"—an intriguing title that merges the terms "alien" and "nature"—focuses on the conflict between man and, indeed, nature; in this sense, the beautiful cover, which depicts a surreal and delirious painting by Alessandro Sala, is significant.

The musical references always pay homage to Italian prog and, in particular, you can always feel the influence of the legendary "Zarathustra"—a legendary album from which the Tempio takes its name and a true cult object in the progressive world—as well as that of bands like Genesis and Gentle Giant. The musical style is that of their first album, but the sounds are more complex and layered, and the impact, compared to its predecessor, is less immediate and requires more listens to fully appreciate its value. Elisa Montaldo has the opportunity to showcase all her talent on the keyboards and also plays ethnic instruments as in the opening "Kaze (what the wind brings with it)," an instrumental track introduced by the sound of the wind followed by the stunning "Senza colori," which features an explosive opening reminiscent of the Museo and a very poetic and refined central part. The epic "Fino alla vetta," introduced by sumptuous dreamlike keyboards, and the dreamy "Onirica possessione," with deep lyrics and Elisa Montaldo taking the lead on vocals and keyboards in the final part, are beautiful. It closes beautifully with the mini-suite "Il cacciatore," a true expressive sum of the Tempio that showcases the perfect interplay between the musicians—besides Montaldo, Fabio Gremo on bass, the talented Giulio Canepa on guitars, and Paolo Tixi on drums. Essentially, "Alienatura" is an excellent album that proves superior to their debut and confirms the full value of one of the current best Italian prog groups.